After scrubbing its planned launch on May 19 due to a faulty check valve, SpaceX proved its critics wrong this morning by successfully launching the Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon capsule perched atop. The momentous launch took place at 3:44am EST this morning from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk -- also known for his ventures with Tesla Motors -- was understandably ecstatic about the success, and expressed his joy on Twitter, stating, “Falcon flew perfectly!! Dragon in orbit, comm locked and solar arrays active!! Feels like a giant weight just came off my back.”

With its solar arrays deployed, the Dragon capsule is on its way to the International Space Station (ISS) and should dock with the station on Friday.

Artist's rendition of the Dragon space capsule in orbit with its solar arrays deployed [Source: SpaceX]

John P. Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, issued this statement on behalf of The White House regarding the launch:

Congratulations to the teams at SpaceX and NASA for this morning’s successful launch of the Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Every launch into space is a thrilling event, but this one is especially exciting because it represents the potential of a new era in American spaceflight. Partnering with U.S. companies such as SpaceX to provide cargo and eventually crew service to the International Space Station is a cornerstone of the President’s plan for maintaining America’s leadership in space. This expanded role for the private sector will free up more of NASA’s resources to do what NASA does best -- tackle the most demanding technological challenges in space, including those of human space flight beyond low Earth orbit. I could not be more proud of our NASA and SpaceX scientists and engineers, and I look forward to following this and many more missions like it.

To add to your post, they're projects that I don't think rational people would expect to produce good quarterly results. SpaceX investments now I wouldn't think would pay big dividends in Q4 2012, but perhaps big ones in Q1 2017 if it steals some of the commercial launch market share.

I can say this: Whatever Musk's faults, at least he isn't sitting on his money and bouncing between fancy ultra-luxury resorts and mansions the world over. He's doing what I like seeing billionaires do; have fun, and push the envelope forward at the same time for everybody. (Something else for liberals to consider: SpaceX wouldn't exist in a country run by the likes of France's Hollande, as no one would ever accumulate the money necessary to get it started)

Also, almost no billionaires do what Musk is doing, so having a lot of billionaires and hoping they'll engage in cutting-edge R&D for the benefit of humanity is quite simply a self-defeating endeavor. There's no point in striving for such a society, because the average billionaire is much more likely to invest in yachts, mansions and luxury cars and goods for themselves than anything that would further spaceflight, for example.

That's why trickle-down economics is such a dismal, utter failure. Musk is a statistical outlier. Most private enterprising is not created by extremely rich people sinking their own personal fortunes into a new venture. Sad, but true.

You're so wrong it's not even funny. Trickle down a failure? Private enterprising not created by rich people using venture capital?

Idiot. Venture capitalists are quite literally the glue that holds innovation and invention together. They don't just invest capital, but put inventors and innovators in collaboration with the market and technical expertise to bring products forth successfully.

You're also an idiot because Musk isn't doing this to "benefit mankind". He's doing this for profit. He saw an opportunity where he could fill a much needed demand and capitalized on it. He's a businessman, hello?